Longview Smashes School Record in 75-43 Playoff Rout of Dallas Jesuit
DALLAS -- Longview head coach John King knew his team's area-round playoff opponent would make their fair share of big plays.
He was hopeful his offense could score right along with them, and the defense would make a handful of stops.
It was all that, and then some.
Longview broke a school record for points in a postseason game and forced five turnovers in a wild 75-43 win over Dallas Jesuit, Saturday evening at Kincaide Stadium.
“We knew we were going to have to score some points," King said. "(Jesuit) is so good offensively, and it was going to come down to who was going to get a stop or who would get a turnover. And we were able to get some of those.”
Longview's previous playoff record was set in 2006 with a 68-0 over Dallas Adams in the bi-district round.
The Lobos (11-1) advanced to the Class 6A Division II, Region II semifinals and will face Klein Collins (11-0) at 2 p.m. next Saturday from Baylor University's McLane Stadium in Waco.
Longview rolled up 623 yards of offense on just 32 plays from scrimmage, and turned Jesuit's five turnovers into 34 points.
“We just knew they were going to keep coming," King said of Jesuit. "We knew they were going to score and going to onside kick, that’s what they’ve done all year long. With a team like that, you’re not going to relax regardless of the score.”
The Lobos had two backs eclipse the 100-yard mark. Jaquan Edwards led the way with 193 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, while Keilyn Williams ran eight times for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
Longview sophomore quarterback Haynes King was 6-of-6 passing for 157 yards and three touchdowns, and he added 75 yards on four rushing attempts.
“We had big plays offensively, running the ball and throwing the ball," Coach King said. "But you’ve got to have good blocking to execute those too, so I thought it was a good performance out of everybody.”
Ja'vonte Writt recovered two fumbles, while Jaylon Allen had one. Roshodrick Harmon and Jephaniah Lister each pulled down one interception.
Jesuit (7-5), which entered Saturday averaging 47 points per game, still managed to post 618 yards of offense.
“(The defense) didn’t quit, they kept plugging away," Coach King said. "I thought we did a good job of getting some stops and turnovers. They get big plays against everybody, we knew they were a big-play offense.”
Rangers quarterback Parker Towns passed for 441 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back EJ Smith, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, collected 186 all-purpose yards and scored twice.
Longview scored on its first five possessions of the game, which totaled just 16 plays, to build a commanding 35-8 lead late in the second quarter.
Edwards got the scoring started with a 66-yard run, and after Smith's 13-yard touchdown and Towns' ensuing two-point conversion gave Jesuit an 8-7 lead on the next drive, the Lobos scored the game's next 28 points.
Williams scored on runs of 35 and 14 yards, Kamden Perry pulled down a 58-yard scoring reception, and Edwards punched it in from 4 yards.
“The big thing is we didn’t have any turnovers, and we converted a crucial third-and-long on a scramble that was a botched snap," Coach King said. "It was good execution out of our offensive unit. We felt like we could hit some things and we did. I thought (offensive coordinator Chris Vallery) did a good job at calling some plays at the right time.”
Jesuit mounted a long drive and scored on a 5-yard run by Towns to cut Longview's lead to 35-14 at halftime.
The Rangers got within two touchdowns on their first drive of the third quarter when Smith plunged across the goal line from the 1, but Longview responded with 21-straight points to go up 56-21 heading into the fourth.
Haynes King delivered a strike to A'Darius Carter for a 63-yard touchdown, Edwards ripped off a 16-yard scoring run, and Jaylin Brown picked up an 8-yard touchdown reception.
Longview added three more long touchdown runs covering 75, 57, and 31 yards in the fourth quarter.
Jesuit also scored three times in the fourth. Matthew Priddy, who finished with 151 all-purpose yards, caught a touchdown and ran for another, while Towns tossed a 61-yard touchdown to Fletcher Rosenbleeth, who had a game-high 10 catches and 173 yards for the Rangers.
“I’m very proud of them with what we had to go through early on with some injuries and how we started the district race," Coach King said of his team. "Nobody gave us anything, they’ve earned every bit of it. I tell them all the time, ‘a team to remember plays in December,’ and this is definitely one of them.”
Longview 75, Dallas Jesuit 43
Class 6A Division II
Region II Area Playoff
At Kincaide Stadium, Dallas
Jesuit 8 6 7 22 -- 43
Longview 14 21 21 19 -- 75
First Quarter
LON--Jaquan Edwards 66 run (Chris Kessler kick), 6:38.
JES--EJ Smith 13 run (Parker Towns run), 2:53.
LON--Keilyn Williams 35 run (Kessler kick), 1:59.
Second Quarter
LON--Williams 14 run (Kessler kick), 10:37.
LON--Kamden Perry 58 pass from Haynes King (Kessler kick), 7:12.
LON--Edwards 4 run (Kessler kick), 3:06.
JES--Towns 5 run (pass failed), :09.
Third Quarter
JES--Smith 1 run (James Koshakji kick), 8:44.
LON--A'Darius Carter 63 pass from King (Kessler kick), 8:20.
LON--Edwards 16 run (Kessler kick), 4:35.
LON--Jaylin Brown 8 pass from King (Kessler kick), 3:25.
Fourth Quarter
JES--Matthew Priddy 1 run (Towns run), 10:55.
LON--Williams 75 run (kick failed), 10:37.
JES--Priddy 7 pass from Towns (pass failed), 9:21.
LON--Edwards 57 run (Kessler kick), 5:07.
LON--Jkameron Riggins 31 run (kick failed), 1:47.
JES--Fletcher Rosenbleeth 61 pass from Towns (Towns run), 1:25.
JES LON
First Downs 33 17
Total Yards 6 18 623
Rushes-Yards 41-177 31-458
Passing Yards 441 165
Comp.-Att.-Int. 33-51-2 7-7-0
Punts-Avg. 2-37.5 1-40.0
Fumbles-Lost 4-3 1-0
Penalties-Yards 1-10 11-80
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Jesuit, EJ Smith 20-97, Parker Towns 12-41, Matthew Priddy 7-33, Hank Clements 2-6. Longview, Jaquan Edwards 12-193, Keilyn Williams 8-156, Haynes King 4-75, Jkameron Riggins 1-31, Nigel Foster 2-2, Kaden Meredith 1-2, Jordan Lawson 2-1, Juvarrs Lampkin 1-(-2).
PASSING--Jesuit, Towns 33-50-2--441, Priddy 0-1-0--0. Longview, King 6-6-0--157, Lawson 1-1-0--8.
RECEIVING--Jesuit, Fletcher Rosenbleeth 10-173, Smith 8-89, Priddy 7-118, Tyson Pointer 6-42, Anthony Hollerich 1-11, Jack Hajdu 1-8. Longview, A'Darius Carter 2-72, Paul Hutchins 2-15, Kamden Perry 1-58, Williams 1-12, Jaylin Brown 1-8.